Packet-based communications networks are known in the art. This includes mobile communications networks that provide communication services to mobile end users (such as, but not limited to, cellular telephone end users). Such networks often have a complicated architecture that can make it difficult to genuinely assess the performance experience for these end users that is attributable to the underlying network infrastructure.
Some prior art systems employ latency or round-trip-time (RTT) monitoring systems to measure network traffic delay. Some known approaches use active Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) probes while others employ passive average TCP Round-Trip Latency probes to measure network traffic delay (where the “delay” includes network buffering delays as well as device/service buffering delays). A typical algorithm in these regards measures artificially-generated ICMP ping RTT to and from a pre-defined Internet Protocol (IP) server with known delay. Unfortunately, as ascertained by the applicant, such approaches typically do not provide complete coverage of the mobile communications network nor have an ability to measure the network latency actually experienced by each subscriber for each communication session. In addition, the typical average TCP RTT measurements in the prior art contain both low-speed channel and high-speed channel delays and this tends to skew the latency results and obscure the latency for the underlying network infrastructure delay due to long route, mis-configured route, or long network infrastructure delays attributable to faulty equipment.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.